BELLEAIR, Fla. — Auston Kim is a grinder. She always has been. And never was that more on display than Friday at The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican.

The 2023 Epson Tour graduate got off to a rough start in Belleair, Fla., carding a 4-over 74 in the first round after making four birdies and eight bogeys at Pelican Golf Club. Kim ultimately found herself in a tie for 109th with her back against the wall after that performance, knowing that if she didn’t improve in a hurry on Friday, her rookie year would be over after day two at The ANNIKA.

But as Kim is wont to do, she battled her way back from the brink in the second round, carding a bogey-free, 6-under 64 – a rare feat at Pelican Golf Club – to go from 4-over to 2-under and handily make the 20th cut of her rookie season on the LPGA Tour.

“I'm pretty happy. It was a lot of solid shots,” said Kim after her second round. “I hit a couple of bad ones, but I was able to rebound. I made a really good par save on the last hole. Overall, I just came out here to play some golf today after yesterday, and I'm pretty happy with how I handled myself today.

“I think it was a little less up and down. Yesterday was just a little messy, bit of a psycho scorecard, as they call it. I felt a lot steadier today, mentally and physically. I was able to capitalize and made a lot of good putts today. I gave myself a lot of good opportunities and played some good golf.”

Not only was a made cut on the line for Kim on day two of The ANNIKA but so was an opportunity to move up in the season-long Race to the CME Globe, as the 24-year-old is currently sitting at 64th in the point standings, four spots away from qualifying for her first CME Group Tour Championship that this year will see a $4 million first-place prize go to the winner at Tiburón Golf Club. Maybe more importantly, particularly for a young athlete like Kim, every player in next week’s field will earn at least $55,000, an amount of money that would be nice to pocket after a long season competing on the LPGA Tour.

Kim vaulted up the Race to the CME Globe after finishing solo third last week at the LOTTE Championship presented by Hoakalei in Hawaii and knew that she would still have some ground to make up at Pelican Golf Club if she wanted to earn a berth in the field in Naples, Fla. After her second-round 64, she was tied for 33rd and was projected to remain at 64th if she doesn’t improve that position, so Kim will be looking to card two more rounds deep in the red to climb both the Race and the leaderboard at over the weekend at The ANNIKA.

After her bounce-back performance on Friday, Kim’s self-belief has been ratcheted up even further, as she was reminded once again that she really can overcome any adversity she faces on the golf course, confidence that she can carry with her as she plays 36 more holes in Belleair, Fla., at what has consistently been a difficult venue for the LPGA Tour’s top talent.

“The biggest thing that I told myself yesterday was that those bad shots and those bad rounds, they don't define me as a person. I know that I'm a good golfer. I know that I can hit a lot of good shots,” said Kim. “I told myself not to take it to heart, laughed it off. A couple of months ago, that probably would've been a lot harder to do. I relied a lot on the golf that I played last week, and I knew that I was capable of doing a lot better.”

But while she made massive strides in round two, Kim’s job still isn’t done and likely won’t be until the final scores are tallied on Sunday afternoon at The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican. While she will continue to quietly celebrate her second-round triumph, it’s right back to work for the young talent in round three, and Kim knows she needs to take full advantage of Moving Day at Pelican Golf Club with that CME Group Tour Championship spot on the line.

“I think focusing on the improvement that I had since (Thursday),” Kim said. “That's definitely a first step. Just reinforcing everything that I keep telling myself, things that are going well. There are definitely things to work on. The job is not done, but I’m going to keep chasing and doing the best that I can.”

And even if things don’t ultimately work out in Kim’s favor, she can take plenty of solace in the fact that she gave it her all over the last two weeks of her rookie season, learning a lot and playing her heart out after what has holistically been a solid debut year for the Epson Tour graduate.

But until those last putts fall on Sunday, it’s full steam ahead for Kim, who will be trying to play as confidently and fearlessly as she can over the next 36 holes at Pelican Golf Club as she battles her way up the leaderboard in Belleair, Fla.

Auston Kim Bounces Back from Thursday 74 with Friday 66 at The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican

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